The Most Incredible Meteor Shower In A Decade Will Peak This Week

8/04/2016

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If you are a sky-watching enthusiast like me then
you’re not gonna want to miss this year’s Perseid meteor shower. Astronomers are forecasting that, at its peak
on August 11-12, we will get to see twice as many meteors that usual, about 200
meteors an hour. Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environments Office said in a statement:

“Forecasters are predicting a Perseid outburst this
year with double normal rates on the night of August 11-12. Under perfect
conditions, rates could soar to 200 meteors per hour.”

For better perspective, in a normal year, we typically
only get 80 meteors per hour during the Perseids. And this year we will witness
at least 200 meteors per hour.

The Perseids Meteor shower occurs when Earth’s orbit gets
us into the trail of Comet Swift-Tuttle, and typically we only make it into the
very boundaries the debris trail it sheds as it passes through space.

"[T]his
could be the rare year where Jupiter's gravity tugs that stream a little
closer, allowing our planet to plow right through the middle of it, where
there's more junk and we see more meteors as a result."

Earth is already in the path of Comet Swift-Tuttle, and
is projected to continue shadowing it until August 24. And its peak is between
August 11 and 12. So you get your calendars
marked.

If you’re in the Southern Hemisphere, the meteors
should initiate in the sky from the Perseus constellation, which appears on the
horizon at about 10pm ET (7pm PT). For the best show it is recommended that you
try to stay up until after midnight.

Happy sky-watching!

This
blog is managed by Umer Abrar. To contact the editor, write to mirzavadoodulbaig@gmail.com
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